Commodus
Commodus (31 August 161-31 December 192) was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 180 to 192, succeeding Marcus Aurelius and preceding Pertinax. Biography Commodus was born on 31 August 161, the son of Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the pagan Roman House of Aurelius. Commodus was ambitious, brave (although not on the battlefield), and loyal to his family. He had an incestuous attraction towards his sister Lucilla, who was the wife of the former emperor Lucius Verus, who had died of illness. In 177 Commodus became the co-emperor with his father, who had been ill since 170. Commodus believed that he would be the heir to his father, but in 180 his father revealed to him that he wanted Maximus Decimus Meridius to succeed him and restore power in Rome to the Senate and the people. Commodus retold the story of how his father sent him a letter describing four vitrues, and how he realized that he had none, but had other virtues. His father apologized for his lack of being a good father, as Commodus' faults as a son were his failures as a father. As Marcus Aurelius embraced him, Commodus smothered his face into his chest until he died from suffocation. Commodus had Maximus arrested and arranged for him to be executed by the Praetorian Guard, but unbeknownst to him, he killed his executioners and tried to head to Trujillo to meet his family. However, Commodus sent Praetorians to his villa and had his son crucified and his wife also crucified after being raped by his men repeatedly. Commodus had the support of Senator Falco, while Senator Gracchus and Senator Gaius opposed him. Commodus had a grand parade into Rome, with some of the crowds yelling at him while others celebrated. His first act as Emperor was to hold gladiatorial games in the honor of his father for 150 days, although his father actually closed the Colisseum and illegalized gladiatorial combat. Commodus felt that if he gained the support of the people through blood, he would be loved. Commodus was not a man for politics, ignoring the plague in the Greek quarter of Rome and telling Gracchus that he should solve it. He was a poor leader, and Commodus was disliked by the Senate, which he sought to disband. Eventually, he found out that Maximus was still alive after he revealed his name following his leadership of gladiators representing Carthage in a reenactment of the Battle of Zama (which ended in a Carthaginian victory instead of the historical Roman one due to Maximus' command skills). Maximus swore to kill him in this life or the next, and many of the crowds of Rome loved Maximus, deeming him "Maximus the Merciful" for sparing the previously-undefeated gladiator Tigris of Gaul. Commodus ordered the suppression of several senators that opposed him after Maximus gained power, having Gaius killed by a poisonous snake, Gracchus arrested, and ordering an assault on Antonius Proximo's estate, where Maximus and several loyal gladiators lived. Commodus prevented Maximus from leading an army against him, and he captured him. He decided to have him fight him in the colisseum to settle all matters. Commodus stabbed Maximus in the back before the match and put his armor on to conceal the wound, and they battled to the death. Commodus fought Maximus in a battle, but when Maximus disarmed him and Commodus called out for a sword from his guards surrounding them, they refused. Commodus drew a dagger from his gauntlet and tried to kill Maximus, but Maximus turned the dagger around and stabbed him in the throat, killing him. Commodus was succeeded by Pertinax, a member of the Roman Senate who was acclaimed emperor in the "Year of the Five Emperors", 193 AD. Category:161 births Category:192 deaths Category:Roman emperors Category:Romans Category:Emperors Category:Killed Category:Pagans